1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a bracket intended for mounting a winch for maintaining tension on a net of a tennis, volleyball, and badminton court to a supporting wall. The bracket has two components, a base for securing to the wall, and a support member having screw or bolt holes for receiving the winch. The support member is slidably retained within the base. Position of the winch on the support member can be adjusted.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Nets for certain sports, such as tennis, volleyball, badminton, and the like are usually maintained under tension during play by a winch. In courts specifically dedicated to such activities, a post solidly anchored in the ground or floor is typically provided to support the winch. However, some facilities are general purpose, or intended for many different activities. In these cases, the post usually cannot be provided, since it is not readily removable, and would interfere with some of the activities.
A representative tensioning system is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,333,880, issued to Edwin T. Allbright on Aug. 2, 1994. This patent points up problems in providing tensioning systems generally, notably space requirements and requirements for fasteners which must penetrate environmental surfaces. In the Allbright device, such fasteners include stakes driven into the ground.
This approach is appropriate in outdoor applications. However, it is occasionally desirable to erect nets indoors, such as in a gymnasium. Driving fasteners into wall or floor surfaces is usually objectionable as being unduly damaging to the gymnasium. There exists a need for a mounting, such as a bracket, adapted for indoor use.
Brackets for facilitating mounting of bulky or heavy items to vertical or horizontal surfaces have long been employed. Examples are seen in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,405,116, issued to Charles G. Shepherd et al. on Apr. 11, 1995, and 5,417,396, issued to Milton J. Merl on May 23, 1995. These devices illustrate a number of aspects which are generally typical of brackets generally, such as holes for receiving fasteners. Merl illustrates multi-part construction. However, these devices are clearly different in construction from the present invention, which includes a permanently mounted base and a removable, complementing member having holes and slots for accepting threaded fasteners for securing the subject object.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.